26 April 2011

I once saw a stealth fighter up close. Gawd, that's one sexy damn thing!

The F-35 comes with a hefty, apparently morphing and not-to-be-disclosed, price. And 60 of these things have been ordered, without an open and fair bidding process, by the Government of Harper; the latter not to be confused with the Government of Canada, although it freely avails itself of Canadian tax dollars.

So, no thanks. At $6 billion, $30 billion, $40 billion..., the F-35 is a sexy thrill I can live without.

21 April 2011

On this blog, I've lambasted Jack Layton, Michael Ignatieff, Stephen Harper, Elizabeth May... The only leader of a Canadian federal party I haven't targeted with slings and arrows is Gilles Duceppe and that's only because his party isn't a national one.

Some would say I've been particularly hard on Layton. Until Ignatieff came onto the Canadian political scene, they were likely correct. I went especially hard on Layton because I had so much higher expectations of him and his party.

So knock me down with a feather when along comes a new Layton, who seems to have been invigorated and renewed after recent health challenges. It's as though he acquired a fresh determination "to get things done."

Now...

Might this NDP surge go so far as to deliver one Jack Layton as Leader of the Official Opposition?

Throughout the country, Conservatives are failing to show up at All Candidates Meetings or debates; yet these ACMs provide local citizens the best opportunity to compare candidates and party platforms as interpreted by those candidates. (The best way to assess platforms regardless of candidate interpretation is to visit the various party websites, download the platforms and do an item-by-item comparison yourself.)

The no-shows of 35+ Conservative candidates to ACMs continues a Stephen Harper theme. It is no longer a matter merely of perception: Harper and his brand of the Conservative Party of Canada are afraid of, and have no respect for the majority of Canadians.

02 April 2011

Do you get paper delivery each morning? Read the national, provincial or local headlines from newspapers at work? Catch up on the news from papers left at Tim Hortons?

Do you instead get your news from the airwaves, via radio? From TV? Or online, from traditional or alternative news magazine and newspaper sites?

Regardless of where you get your news, its delivery begins with the journalist or reporter.

Everything you know about the goings-on in government and politicians' activities during and between election campaigns depends crucially on journalists getting that information for you, unless you do the digging yourself.

When a government or politician severely restricts or bars journalists consistently from doing their work, that government or politician is effectively restricting or barring YOU from getting crucial information.

That information in aggregate ultimately shapes the views of we citizens about the functioning of our government and the activities of our elected politicians. That information together tells us what we must know to make an informed ballot decision at times of elections.

This is why all Canadians should feel deeply disturbed that Steven Harper, as both the current Prime Minister of Canada and now as a federal candidate, consistently restricts and more often bars, both reporters' presence from key events and prohibits their questions.

Contrast this with the full access to media and the public by leaders of the opposition parties.

An attack on freedom of the press is an attack on you and me.

If you don't get that or don't care, then you are responsible for the further erosion of Canada's democracy.

Chrystal Ocean: Social libertarian; democratic reformer; passionate activist for housing reform, especially for changes in property laws to be more inclusive of housing alternatives; atheist; founder of a group run by and for women in poverty, author of several blogs and a book. Contact | Complete profile

Daphne Moldowin: I have chosen a minimalist lifestyle, am a raw food vegan and an anti-capitalist. For me, less means more freedom: to rage against the machine and to speak my mind. I champion others who have small voices. Complete profile